UMTRI are always interested in looking for opportunities to collaborate
with others from all over the world who have carried out quality research
on driver interfaces, driver workload, and related topics. UMTRI scholars
have included: (1) engineers who work for automotive manufacturers and
suppliers with whom we have contracts and who have been sent to work on
site, (2) graduate students from other universities who spend a year with
us, (3) professors from other universities who spend a 6-month or year
sabbatical, and (4) post-docs seeking additional training.

UMTRI has an international reputation for doing first-class research
on driving. Visitors come to gain a better understanding of research methods,
the research on some topic they are just beginning to understand, or to
help conduct a research project their organization is funding. More generally,
such visits strengthen the bond between UMTRI scientists and the visitor,
and UMTRI and the sponsoring organization. Often, the visitor becomes
a “window person” to the sponsoring organization and vice
versa. Visiting engineerings often find a more general understanding of
human factors particularly valuable.

Unless the visitor is an engineer funded by their employer, it is difficult
to know in advance on which project the visitor will be working, though
clearly it will be related to driver interfaces. Many projects are only
1 year long or less, and sometimes funding is not received until 2 or
3 months before the project starts. However, the application process usually
starts 6 months to a year before the visitor arrives in Ann Arbor.

Visitors to UMTRI often use the instrumented vehicles and especially
the driving
simulator for evaluations. It must be emphasized that except for scientists
who have had extensive experience with instrumented cars and driving simulators
for human factors research, these are not walk up and use facilities and
are quite expensive to use. The major cost is paying for the personnel
who operate them. Furthermore, to use the driving simulator, visitors
should know TCL (or a similar language) and have experience with Windows,
Mac, and Linux operating systems in order to potentially write their own
scenarios. It usually takes a month to learn the simulator and several
months to write the scenarios. Keep in mind that all studies involving
human subjects requires approval of the Behavioral
Sciences Institutional Review Board and several months are needed
to obtain approval. Furthermore, having people without training in behavior
science test subjects is not considered favorably.

Visitors often find that an academic component is an important part of
a visit. This includes sitting in on the Human Factors Engineering Short Course as well as other
courses Dr. Green teaches (Industrial and Operations Engineering 437,
Automotive Human Factors, September-December; Industrial and Operations
Engineering 436, Human Factors in Computer Systems, January-April). Visiting
engineers and graduate students may audit courses Dr. Green teaches with
his permission. To take courses for credit, students need to be admitted
to a specific University degree program or to the University overall as
a “not
candidate for degree”. UMTRI has no control over admissions.
(As an aside, UMTRI is not an academic unit, so we do not offer classes
or award degrees, though UMTRI personnel do participate in teaching through
academic departments.)

Those interested should email Paul Green with a (1) letter of introduction,
(2) statement of purpose (including why they are interested in being a
visiting scholar and dates of visit), (3) resume, (4) copies of publications
in English, and (5) financial support document. There is no application
form.

Because one of the purposes of a visit is to establish a connection between
UMTRI and the unit from which the visitor comes, we need a letter of introduction.
An email message is preferred. If the visitor is a student, then the letter
should be from (and written by) the student’s advisor. If the visitor
is a faculty member, then the letter should be from the department chairperson.
If the visitor is a company employee, then the letter should be from a
supervisor.

The letter should describe (1) the individual and his/her qualifications,
(2) any requirements individual needs to fulfill in coming to UMTRI, (3)
the organization from which the visitor is coming, and (4) what the organization
hopes to gain from their visit to UMTRI.

Eventually, there will be some sort of discussion of the objectives of
the visit. The more specific the objectives are, the easier it is to assess
whether the objectives were achieved at the end of the visit. When the
objectives are described very generally, such as “to learn more
about human factors,” assessing whether the objective was achieved
(at the end of the visit) is difficult.

In deciding if someone should be invited to visit UMTRI,
the primary consideration is the extent to which the visit will be mutually
beneficial. In addition, UMTRI considers the person has the person done
prior research that is closely related to our research. Automotive research
that is not human factors does not qualify, nor does research in other
areas of human factors, such as restraint system design.
(Those with interest in restraints or crash biomechanics should contact
the UMTRI
Biosciences Division.)

To clarify the purpose, sometimes estimates of how time might be spent
during the visit can be helpful. Though one cannot be certain in advance
what will occur, these estimates using the table that follows are requested
and useful.

Category

Explanation

UMTRI project

Usually, the main reason to visit UMTRI is to work on UMTRI research
projects.

Continuing work on reports, papers, articles, and books

This may include reports and articles started before their visit
to UMTRI, articles in review, etc.

Administrative/ company tasks

This might include other projects (not UMTRI projects) a company
asks a visiting engineer to undertake, which could be as minor as
a few hours of library research to something more significant. It
also includes paperwork associated with the visit.

Attend classes

This includes the 2-week short course and IOE 436 and 437 (which
meet for 3 hours/week for 13 weeks). Those sitting in on classes are
expected to do the homework, which takes about 9 hours/week

Vacation

Visitors to UMTRI for a year usually take about 3 weeks of vacation
to visit other parts of Michigan (the northern part of the state is
popular in the fall and winter) and other cities (New York, Chicago,
San Francisco), other states, and national parks. Those with young
children often visit Disneyland or Disney World. It is an important
part of the cultural experience.

Proposals

If the visitor is a student or professor, they may have obligation
from their home university to write or complete a proposal for their
return.

Dissertation/thesis

For graduate students, their dissertation or thesis, presumably
started, may need work during their visit.

Reading Literature

Keeping up on the human factors literature (reading books, journal
articles, materials on line, etc.) independent of projects is important.

Hosting other visitors

This includes meeting with colleagues from the company, home university,
or others from the same country.

After there is a working agreement about the visit, an official offer
needs to be generated by the University. Usually, the visitor needs an
official invitation from the University to pursue funding, but the visitor
needs an official invitation to request funding. To circumvent the who
acts first problem, we need to send the visitor’s resume, publications,
and a cover note describing what is to be done during the visit to the
UMTRI Director, who then writes a cover letter to the University’s
Office of the Vice President for Research to obtain approval for the visit.
We have never had a request denied. That process can take several weeks
because the folks involved are quite busy. Therefore, it is essential
that UMTRI knows the exact date by which the visitor must receive an official
invitation and to know that well in advance. There has been 1 instance
where plans for a visit were not completed because the date was not communicated,
and we do not want that to occur again.

As second consideration if someone will be invited to UMTRI
is if they have their own funding. UMTRI is a soft money
organization, meaning we are funded by companies and the government to
do contract research for them. Therefore, a person seeking to be a visiting
scholar must have their own funding for basic support, though if the person
works on UMTRI projects, a supplement is possible. According to the International
Center rules as of 2009, a visiting scholar must document they have a
minimum of $1500/month ($18,000/year) if they have no dependents, $2000/month
($24,000/year) with 1 dependent, and $2200/month ($26,000/year) with 2
or more dependents. For the latest information, check out the University
of Michigan International Center web site. Please note that this requirement
for funding (as of March 2009) is not listed directly on the I Center
web site, but visiting scholars must complete the DS2019
form. In addition, visitors are also required to have
health insurance as the US does not have universal health care for its
citizens or visitors. See the International
Center Web site - Health Insurance for details.

Most visits are for an extended period of time, 6 months to a year, but
2 years is feasible. In some cases, companies have had a succession of
engineers work at UMTRI, with a new engineer rotating to UMTRI every year.

If someone has complete flexibility, and the visit is a year long, the
best time to arrive is after July 4th (US Independence Day holiday). July
is a less active month and there are fewer students on campus, so settling
into town is easier. Usually, at least 1-2 very busy weeks are needed
for administrative matters (getting an apartment, getting a driver’s
license, etc.) and then the visitors should sit in the Human
Factors Engineering Short Course. Hopefully, by that point their English
language skills are sufficient. (Sometimes non-native English speakers
take courses at the English Language Institute throughout their stay in
Ann Arbor.)

Other good times to arrive are the third week of August or early December
as the academic semester start early in September and January. Early in
May is also a good choice. Settling in takes about a month, with most
tasks being completed in 1-2 weeks. Preparing to leave is spread out over
2 weeks.

For the most part, if one must, one can get around Ann Arbor by walking,
bike, and public transportation. However, every visiting scholar to the
Human Factors Division has purchased a vehicle while they were here for
convenience. Cars (for personal use, not research) and car insurance are
usually provided by a visiting engineer's employer. Other visitors usually
purchase a used car shortly after they arrive (1/family) and sell it shortly
before they leave. Students and faculty must use their own finances. If
the purchase price is less than $5000, expect to have several large repair
bills (>$1000 each) over the period of the visit.

Visiting scholars should therefore get an international driver's license
before they leave their home country. This will allow them to drive for
1 year in the U.S. If they don't have an international license, they will
have to get a Michigan license immediately (which is useful anyway). As
proof of identity, the State of Michigan requires a passport, foreign
driver's license, and a third document. To get a Michigan driver's license,
one must pass a written test, wait 2-3 weeks for a driving test to be
scheduled, and another 1-2 weeks for the license to come in the mail.
Obviously for someone studying driving, not having a driver's license
is a problem.

Visiting scholars should bring copies of their medical and dental records
to the U.S. Therefore, if they should have a health problem when they
are here, a medical history can be obtained quickly. Since most U.S. doctors
only speak and read English, visitors might want to have some of the records
translated. An alternative would be to get a general health examination
shortly after coming to the U.S., so there are health records in English.
If there are non-prescription medicines you use regularly (for headache,
colds, upset stomach) and prefer, bring them as they may not be available
in the U.S.

At UMTRI, we generally provide visiting scholars with a Macintosh computer
and connections to the Internet. Visitors almost always bring their own
laptops with them that they can connect to the UMTRI network.

When asked what to bring, one visiting engineer from Japan said "money."
Clothing is less expensive in the U.S. than overseas, especially Japan.
Most UMTRI employees dress informally. Dr. Green usually just wears a
nice pair of pants and a sweater. Some people wear jeans. UMTRI employees
rarely wear jackets and ties except at conferences. If the visiting engineer
likes certain sports (golf, skiing, bicycling, tennis, fishing, sailing,
running, and so forth), they might bring the proper clothing and equipment
(except for sailing). The University has excellent athletic
facilities. There is a fee
to use them (probably $300/year). After paying the fee, most facilities
can be used for free, except for golf, for which there is a several dollar
daily charge. How much money is needed to start for a 1-year visit varies
with the individual, but $3000 should be sufficient (ignoring the purchase
of a vehicle).

Upon arrival the visiting scholar will need an apartment. There are several
complexes not too far from UMTRI (1-2 miles). If desired, UMTRI can obtain
information on housing from local real estate agents, but usually housing
is coordinated by the visitor, except for visiting engineers, who rely
on their employer. For an unfurnished 1-bedroom apartment, rents are about
$700-1000/month. The down payment on an apartment is typically rent for
1-1.5 months. The initial fee for furniture rental is $250 or more, though
sometimes people purchase furniture at Ikea. Additional funds will be
needed for dishes, utensils, pots, pans, cleaning supplies, towels, sheets,
blankets, and so forth (maybe another $500). Appliances (TV, microwave,
vacuum cleaner, etc.) could be several hundred more. The visiting scholar
will also need a bank account. A minimum of about $500 is needed to open
an account.

Food is relatively inexpensive in the U.S. There is a very large supermarket
1/2 mile from UMTRI and an Asian food store at about the same distance.

For tax purposes, the visiting engineer will need to obtain a social
security card. This will require a visit to the local federal office building.

A visiting scholar from outside the U.S. will need a J-1 or other visa
for any extended stay. Generally, this is handled by the visitor or their
employer (for an engineer), though UMTRI will provide any supporting information
requested..

Even though Ann Arbor is in the middle of the U.S., there are a significant
number of non-Americans who live here. Of the 35,000 students at Michigan,
about 10% are from outside the U.S. Many of them are graduate students
who come with their families. In addition, several non-U.S. based companies
(Toyota, Hyundai-Kia) have significant operations nearby, adding to the
population of non-U.S. nationals. Ann Arbor has a well-established tradition
of hosting non-U.S. nationals.